Google Classroom

As a lover of all things Google, I decided that it was time to try out Google Classroom, a straightforward way to create a workflow to and from students through their Google accounts. This video explains how to set up a classroom and how to create assignments. Bonus: It allows you to view the Teacher and Student accounts simultaneously.

After setting up my class and adding students, I created my assignment: a Google Presentation that focuses on the proper use of "your" and "you're" using photographs.

Check it out:

Here is the link to my Google Presentation assignment. 
Please give attribution if you use it. :)

Finally, I created an assignment in Google Classroom with the Presentation attached. When I shared it with my class, I chose the selection, "Make a copy for each student."

This option takes a looooong time before it shows up in their accounts, but it's worth the wait! I would advise doing this the night before. Another bonus: it automatically puts each student's name on the end of the assignment title.

When students log into their Google Classroom accounts, they will discover that they have an assignment waiting for them. 

Once students open the assignment, they simply view the Presentation, fill in the blanks like so:

Grammar can be scary!!!!

and turn it in. When they do, it populates a folder in my Drive that was automatically created when I created the assignment in Google Classroom. All assignments have their own folders, and all folders are placed in a folder called "Classroom" in Google Drive.

Now I can decide to grade these assignments or call just make this assignment "Practice." 

I am excited about Google Classroom, and I think that it is going to evolve to include many more features, but this is definitely an easy way to begin. Give it a try and see for yourself!

Literature Circles, Apps, and Edmodo

I have always used literature circles in my class, and my students have greatly benefited from the deep thinking they use as they are reading. My challenge for the past couple of years was how to incorporate iPads and technology into a system that already worked for me. 

Edmodo was the platform for what I planned. For those who aren't already familiar with Edmodo, it is a FREE website for educators to share resources, collaborate, form groups within the classroom, create online assignments, give quizzes or polls, and more! For me, this was a no-brainer. All I had to do now was to look closely at student roles, which have always been a way for me to introduce literature circles. I needed to bring technology into the picture. 

Students hard at work creating products to share.

I wanted to find apps that really produced something significant and meaningful for my class. Another big challenge was to use apps that weren't just cool and fun, but that actually accomplished what I wanted using the depth and complexity that was needed. Oh, and by the way, the products that students created and shared with their groups could only take 15 minutes to create. The rest of the time was spent reading and discussing. It took a few weeks to get there, but we did it.

These were the basic management rules I used:

This presentation gives an overall picture of how Lit Circles look in my class:

Apps I Have Used:
(but there are so many more I still plan to use!)

Edmodo - Post assignments directly into Edmodo.

Camera - Use for almost anything!

Pages - Create a document and add a photo.

Keynote - Create a short slideshow on Keynote. 

Croak.it   - Record an audio response on Croak.it.
WordHippo.com - Find definitions for Word Wizard role.

Educreations - Create a screencast.

Haikudeck.com - Create a haiku PowerPoint.

Simple Mind - Create a mind map.

Over- Select a photo and label it.

PicStitch - Create a photo collage.

ImageChef - Create a photo collage for theme/mood.

Word Clouds - Create a word cloud of vocabulary.

Notability - Highlight and annotate text.

Creative Commons - Free-use images.

I hope that this list inspires you to think outside the box as you create meaningful literature circles in your own class!

ePortfolios: Keeping Track of Online Work

I've quickly come to realize that keeping track of my students' work in paper folders is a thing of the past, especially since most of their work lives online or on their iPads. EPortfolios is the way to go. This year I was inspired to learn how to create ePortfolios with Google Sites from presentations at the CUE conference that I attended in Palm Springs, CA in March.  I had my own ideas of how I thought it might look, but what it ended up becoming was far superior to anything I could have dreamed up.

I started off by practicing with an informational writing piece. We broke the chapters up into separate pages. Then I required students to add a combination of photos, maps, or videos. In addition, they had to change the font size and/or color, plus wrap the text around any images they used.

Here's an example of using Google Sites for a report on the Great Wall of China:

Notice how the chapters are numbered. This was key to keeping them in order,
Otherwise, Google Sites will alphabetize the pages, which isn't always idea.

Here's another example:

This theme had a dramatic look!

This is a checklist that I gave to students for their informational writing site:

After this, my students were ready for an ePortfolio. It look some practice in getting everything to work on iPads, which can be temperamental and wonky at times, but we had a number of "experts" in no time. Soon, all students had ePortfolios up and running. Here are a few examples:

Notice the titles and subtitles on the left. Students were able to create photo galleries using photos that I had taken during the year and posted on our Weebly website. They simply saved them to their photo album on their iPads.

Here is a close-up of the titles and subtitles. Check out the countdown menu at the bottom. Many students used this for special events like birthdays, holidays, or to keep track of when school ended.

This is the checklist I gave for completed ePortfolios:

I gave this presentation to teachers on how to create ePortfolios with their students. It should answer a lot of tricky questions.

I can't wait to try this again next year. I'll start earlier with my fifth graders. I will make it a point to remind them to take their own pictures of their work to include in their ePortfolios. I hope you try it too!

A Cute Way to Post QR Codes in the Classroom

Let's face it, there is nothing cutesy or personal about a QR code. They're boxy, black, and boring. But when we worked so hard to create ePortfolios this year, I wanted a way to show that work off at Open House, so I knew that I was going to put those unappealing boxes on a bulletin board one way or another. So here's one way! I took pictures of my students posing as if they were holding a box. I tried to make it so that each pose was unique.

Then I simply printed out the QR Codes and placed them in my students' posed hands. Whala! Here is the result:

These were a big hit!

Using Strip Design With Science

I've been experimenting with ways to use the app, Strip Designer. My students love it because they can add speech or thought bubbles, visual sound effects, and because they can easily format how they want their layout to be. For example, they can add or delete cells from templates, detach cells and overlap them, and add interesting frames designs with different color motifs.

After teaching my students about all of the effects and formats they can create, I wanted to decide upon a meaningful way to showcase their knowledge. Then it hit me. Each student has conducted at least two experiments in front of the class this year, but the only evidence of this was photographs I had taken and a grade that I had given.

Now it was time to have fun! I wanted students to create a product that gave information about their experiment using as little words as possible so that anyone who looked at it would understand what hypothesis they were testing. I started by showing them five different ways that I had taken the same information, but displayed it differently. Here are a few of my examples:

Then I had students each create three ways to display their information. This took about two days. When students were finished, I asked them to set up their iPads for a "gallery walk." Students were able to go from desk to desk and look at each other's Strip Designs and give feedback to each other. Finally, they made finishing touches and shared their creations with me as a pdf. It was a huge success! I printed all of the designs and put them on a bulletin board for Open House. 

Here are a few student examples:

My next challenge is to use it in ELA and Math. I'm already thinking that we could use it for word study, grammar, and to solve steps in a math problem. The possibilities are endless!